Monday, January 2, 2017

Looking ahead

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas season and rang in the new year with friends and loved ones. I decided to take the entire month of December off from blogging so that I could relax and spend some stress-free time with my own family and I'm so glad that I did. It's no secret that I've been feeling a tad bit overwhelmed, what with the new baby and all. I needed some time to unplug and just be a mom for a while and not worry about creating content for my blog and trying to meet deadlines. Here's why.

A few weeks ago I ended up going in to see my doctor. I've been under a ton of stress lately and I'm just not handling it very well at all. Josiah is 4 months old now and is still a horrible sleeper who wakes up every 2 hours every night. Most days he's a horrible napper too, only giving me 20-30 minutes to try to shower, throw in a load of laundry, make dinner, etc. It's been awful. On top of that, my rambunctious 2 1/2 year old is doing this awesome thing where she screams at the top of her lungs when you don't do what she wants, so while I'm juggling an unhappy baby, I also have what sounds like a pterodactyl following me around screeching at me. Fun times! Anywho, my doctor confirmed that I have some postpartum anxiety and depression going on and I'm trying to do what I can to lower the stress in my life. My husband suggested I quit or take a break from blogging and I begrudgingly agreed. Blogging has become more of a chore to me lately as my lifestyle and family size has changed and grown over the years. When I first started blogging I was just a bored stay at home mom with 2 really easy little kids and a ton of free time on my hands. Life was much simpler back then and I had time for things I enjoyed and had all kinds of time to work on my blog. Nowadays not so much. The amount of children I have has doubled and our lives have become so much more crazy and hectic as a family of six. Gone are the days when I actually had time to sit on my sewing machine for hours, whip up a craft, or read for fun. Now I have absolutely zero time for anything that isn't related to housework or keeping a child alive. Add trying to run a blog to that and you've got one stressed out mom-zilla and a husband and four kids who are sick of being yelled at. So the break was much-needed.

However, as much as I loved my little work vacay, I also missed it. I've been doing this for so long now that it feels weird not to do it. I still have ideas in my head that I want to get out. I really enjoy writing my feelings out...it's so freeing. I love sharing my thoughts with other people. I just love to talk, really. Anyone who knows me knows I talk a lot. I'm wordy. And I love the little blogging community that I'm a part of. So while I was on my break I decided that I'm not ready to give it all up just yet. I'm going to continue to blog, but maybe not quite at the fervent pace I was once at. Trying to keep up with the old me and my old blog is silly because I'm not the same person I was back then, nor am I in the same mentality. I need to refocus a little and set my pace for the new normal and just be OK with that.

That being said, I can't wait to see what 2017 has in store for me. Goodbye, 2016! Thanks for the new squishy baby boy, but I'm all set now ;)